Sometimes we meet someone very important, maybe a King, a Queen, the Pope, a great sportsman or sportswoman, an actor or actress; and we never forget the day, the time, and the place of our meeting.  We may even have a photograph to remind us of the meeting. I remember in 1986 when I was studying for a master’s degree in the Angelicum University in Rome. In our class, there were 36 students from all over the world, Spain, Italy, Iraq, Russia, USA; I was studying with three members of my congregation, one a Spaniard, the other a Mexican and myself. Coming to the end of the year, the class president, decided to write to the Pope requesting a special mass for our group, as at the end of the year we were all heading back to our home countries. We weren’t expecting an answer, but to our surprise, we did get an invitation to a private mass with the Pope John Paul II in his private oratory in the Vatican. On the 6th. June 1986, we met in St. Peter’s square, I was the only priest in the group, and I brought my Alb with me, just in case there was a chance that I could concelebrate with the Pope. At 6.45 am, we went up to the private residence of the Pope, and when the secretary answered the door, he asked if there were any priests in the group. I was invited in, and I was escorted to the sacristy. The Pope was in the small oratory kneeling in prayer. When the bells of St. Peter rang at 7.00 am, the Pope vested and we concelebrated mass with him, his two secretaries, another priest and myself. After mass we were invited into the personal library of the Pope, and he greeted each one of us personally. I spoke to him in English, and when I told him I was from Ireland, he said he remembered with fondness his visit to Ireland. This for me was a very special moment, as Pope John Paul II, is now St. John Paul II. In today’s gospel, we see another personal encounter, this time it is a fisherman, he is minding his own business, he is washing his nets.  Somebody comes walking along the shore, and uninvited steps into the fisherman’s boat.  It is the beginning of a great friendship between Jesus and Peter.  Many of us can empathise with Peter and his companions in the story of today’s Mass. They had done their best; they had fished all night but had caught nothing; all their time and effort had been for nothing. They were tired and dispirited. It’s possible to do one’s best, yet at the end of the day we have nothing to show for it but weariness and wounds. One might study hard for an exam yet not get the desired results. A team might play their hearts out in one game yet lose the match. A parent might do his or her best, yet a child goes off track. When we fail after having done our best the last thing we need is blame. Jesus did not blame Peter and his companions. But he didn’t encourage them to wallow in self-pity either. Nor did he allow them to rest in failure. He challenged them to try again: ‘Launch out into the deep and let down the nets for a catch’. Jesus knew that Peter was a sinner. But he knew that he was also capable of greatness. He knew that Peter and his companions were capable of better things. So, he threw down a challenge to them, and to their credit they responded wholeheartedly. They left everything and became his first disciples. The gospel is not a story about other people, it’s my story, it’s your story. Maybe we don’t have a boat, but Jesus would love to step into our daily lives, and become our friend, and ask us to share in his mission.  We all need someone who accepts us for who we are, and who believes we are capable of more. That someone is Jesus. If we give more time to our friendship with Jesus, then we can have more confidence in ourselves. Like Peter and his companions, we are tired and dispirited after all the challenges covid 19 has caused us over the past two years. Jesus steps into our lives and is waiting for our response, what will our response be?